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Moon and Venus

Tonight the crescent moon appears above the bright planet Venus. The two are in the western sky. This weekend the moon will appear to move slowly away from Venus.

On Monday night the first quarter moon is considerably higher, in the zodiacal constellation Pisces.

Venus is currently 41 million miles away but moving closer to Earth. By the end of this month it will be only 26 million miles away. Next month Venus will move into our morning sky.

Jupiter and Saturn

The brightest planet rising in the eastern sky after sunset is Jupiter. Like Venus, Jupiter is getting closer but not as significantly. The planet starts the month 408 million miles away. At the end of December, it will be 391 million miles away. The planet is closest in early January. Jupiter is in the zodiacal constellation Gemini and will stay with us throughout the winter.

The red planet Mars rises in the eastern sky around midnight. The planet resides in the zodiacal constellation Virgo. It has increased in brightness and has a ruby red tint. That reddish color makes it easy to spot.

The ringed planet Saturn is a morning planet. It rises in the southeastern sky more than an hour before the sun.